Generator Rex: The Red Sea
by RyoutaMisaki
Summary: Rex gets an evo alert from Springfield, CO. which peaks White Knight's interest because there has never been any recorded evo incident within the town since the Nanite event. This incident triggers a mission that might spell the disaster for humans and evos alike.
1. Chapter 1

**Generator Rex**

Mission 1/ The Birds' Nest

Rex rushed past the panicking citizens. This was a normal day for him, an evo running rampant through the city. People were running and screaming for fear of their own safety. The same thing just a different city. This time it was Springfield, Colorado; which was odd considering all his time working for Providence, an evo attack had never occurred in Springfield. Denver, sure, but never Springfield. Sixx was on his usual 'cure or kill' orders, as he chased down the evo. It was an odd one, a shadow like creature, virtually shapeless, with bat-like wings. "Rex!" Sixx barked at him, as an unexplained order for him to get his head in the game.

"Relax, Sixx." Rex screeched his bike to a stop as Noah and Bobo jumped off. "Hold on guys, this'll take a sec." He transformed back to himself, and then his mechanical 'wings' built out of his back.

"Okay, but remember. You promised we'd hang out today." Noah pointed out.

"I know." He laughed a bit. A smile spread across his face, the one he always wears when its time to do his job. He took off at top speed, passing the evo and stopping in its path. "Shows over-" A shadowy tentacle reached out and crushed his left engine and threw him to the ground. He retracted his machines in pain. "Ow…did not expect that." The evo jumped down and rushed down the alleyway.

"Rex! Go after him!" Sixx ordered.

"Yeah, I'm on it." He jumped up and ran towards the alley.

"Holiday." Sixx said as he clicked his communicator in his ear.

{"I know, Sixx. Its strange, So far Springfield has remained evo free as far as we know. How an evo suddenly appeared and is causing destruction, I'm not sure. Its something to look into."}

"What do you mean?" Sixx asked uneasily. He didn't like the tone of Holiday's voice.

{"There's something going on in Springfield. The people either haven't noticed, or-"}

"Or?" Sixx asked, a bit impatient.

{"The whole town is in on it."}

The was some static, an interruption in their conversation. A male voice rang through, it belonged to none other than White Knight.

{"Stop the evo and investigate. Report to me immediately when you find something."}

"Stupid evo is cutting in on my chill time with Noah." Rex rounded the corner sharply, and then, wham! He collided with someone, they both fell to the ground. Rex sat up quickly, a bit frustrated. "What the-?!" He stopped dead in his tracks when he noticed who the 'road block' was. It was a girl, with reddish brown hair, wild and mussy, past shoulder length. Her outfit was almost completely black, a long sleeved shirt, leggings and flats; all except an ornate tribal scarf wrapped around her waist. She rubbed her head as she sat up. Rex had just risen to his feet, a smile spread across his face. He held his hand out to her. "Sorry about that, you okay?"

She was grumbling as she grabbed his hand, not even looking at him yet. "First I get run over by some random evo, only to get knocked over a second time by a-" Her baby blue eyes sparkled as they met his. "-a really cute boy." She smiled shyly, a cute smile which made Rex want to smile more. "Hi, there."

"You said you were run over by an evo, happen to see where it went?"

"No, because as soon as I stood back up you knocked me over again." She frowned. "If it's an evo you're looking for, you're not going to find it if you lose sight of it. At least not in this town." She shook her head.

"What do you mean by that?" Sixx asked as they caught up with Rex. He gave the girl a quick scan, she didn't look dangerous but looks can be deceiving.

"How rude." The girl fumed at Sixx's question. "You're the strangers here, and you're giving me attitude while asking for information." She crossed her arms and turned away from him angrily. Sixx raised an eyebrow, he was baffled by her actions.

"Okay, how about an introduction?" Rex cut between them to defuse the situation. "I'm Rex, this is my best friend Noah, and my trusty partner Bobo. And the guy who looks like a green secret agent is Sixx." He smiled at her and held his hand out. She couldn't resist, she turned and shook his hand.

"I'm Crow." She gave him a slight smile.

"Crow as in the bird?" Noah inquired curiously.

"Yup. It's the name I picked up here in Springfield."

"It's not your real name?" Sixx asked.

"And Sixx is yours?" she chuckled. "Now that we're acquainted, how about I answer your questions over lunch, my Providence compadres?"

"How'd you know we're from Providence?" Rex asked.

"You just told me." She laughed. "If you want to keep it a secret, don't fall for that trick again and you're good." She sighed and began walking towards the street. "Follow me then, my favorite restaurant is this way. Don't worry, its my treat."

Noah walked next to Rex, a genuine smile on his face. "Wow, Rex. She's pretty cute. Not just pretty cute, really cute."

"Yeah, I know. Am I lucky or what?" Rex laughed triumphantly.

"Forget it." Bobo smirked. "She's out of both of your leagues."

"Rex, be careful. Holiday said there is something wrong with this city." Sixx said quietly, glancing at Crow to make sure she hadn't noticed. "White wants us to investigate."

"Great, I meet a cute girl and she might be insane." Rex said sarcastically. He paused, his face showed that he was thinking about something. "Well, as long as she doesn't try to behead me, I'm okay with it." Sixx gave him a strange look. "But she's cute."

"It's just a bit further." She said as they exited the alley way. That's when people started noticing them. Sixx looked around.

"Why are they staring?" He asked.

She laughed to herself a bit. "Don't freak out, I'm kind of famous in this town."

"Hey, Crow!" A man waved at her.

"It's Crow." Someone else said. Whispers surged through the crowd. People called out to Crow and waved cheerfully.

"Huh, and I thought I was famous." Rex joked.

Crow waved back but began walking faster towards the restaurant. She obviously wanted to get to the restaurant as fast as possible. She crossed the street and avoided people on the sidewalk. She opened the door to the restaurant and held it open for them. "Your lunch awaits." She gave them a smile and then followed them inside after a very hesitant Sixx.

"Crow!" The man at front greeted her warmly. "Ah, you brought visitors… and they are…?"

"No, they are my guests, Pierre, and they shall be treated as such." Her tone seemed so commanding.

"Ah, yes, yes. Let me show you to your table." He lead them to a table in the middle of the restaurant.

"Wow, you have a lot of authority." Noah said as they sat down and peaked at the menu.

"No one in this town can really tell me no." She handed Pierre the menu. "I'll just have the usual."

"Right, a coffee and a slice of chocolate cream pie." Pierre wrote it down really fast.

"I'll have what she's having." Sixx said as he handed the menu to him.

"I think I want a hot fudge sundae." Noah smiled.

"Me too." Rex agreed.

"I'll have what the birdie's having." Bobo smirked as he pointed to Crow.

Pierre ran off, leaving Crow to Sixx's glare. "Are you going to answer any of my questions now?"

"Hmm? Which ones?" She tilted her head innocently, she was obviously toying with Sixx.

"Who are you really? And what's going on with this town?" Sixx's patience was wearing thin.

"Pass on the first question. The second one is a bit complicated, depends on what mean by 'going on.'" She twiddled her fingers, ignoring the steam coming out of Sixx's ears as he remained expressionless.

"Uh, let me try." Rex motioned to Sixx to relax. "What Sixx means is why aren't there any evos running around? This is the first time we've ever had a disturbance in Springfield."

"No evos? There most certainly are." Pierre placed the food on the table in front of them as she spoke. He gave Rex a dirty look as he walked away.

"Did that waiter just glare at me?" Rex asked, a bit shocked by it.

"Yeah, but that's because most people don't like outsiders putting their noses in our business. There are many evos in Springfield. They make up forty percent of the population."

"No way. How come Providence doesn't know about it?" Noah asked.

"Because any chance the evos who can control themselves have, Providence crushes it underfoot like stepping on a bug in a meadow. We have it organized so that any evo who comes into the city is registered. We find them homes and based on their powers, we find them jobs. We keep them monitored to protect them from the abuse of evo haters and we take care of anyone who gets out of control." She stuffed a chunk of pie in her mouth.

"Who's 'we'?" Sixx asked.

"We being the Birds' Nest." She inhaled the steam from her coffee, it tickled her nostrils. She took a sip.

"What do you mean by you take care of the ones who get out of control?" Rex had a serious look on his face.

Crow stopped, stunned by the question. "We don't kill 'em, if that's what you're asking. Jeez, why does everyone always jump to that conclusion?" She shook her head. "We keep them locked in the Nest till we can rehabilitate them. If not, they stay there. it's a spacious place."

"The Nest?" Noah looked confused.

"Okay, listen. The Birds' Nest is our home base. My name, Crow, it was given to me 'cause I'm a member. We're all named after a different bird. Some of us are human and some are evo. If your rep is good enough and if you're skilled enough you get a name. We have it so that Providence should never have to come here. Cardinal made sure of that."

"Cardinal? He's the big guy in charge right?" She nodded at Noah.

"So here's the deal, I help you get your evo and you help me with something." She batted her eyelashes at Rex.

"What do you need help with?" Rex gave her a smile.

"The arena. It's where evos show off their skills. Its high paying so evos who can't find well paying jobs earn something. We hold tournaments and the winner faces the champion."

"You use evos for entertainment?" Bobo finally spoke up, having finished his pie."

"Only if they want to, they have to personally sign up for it. And there's no death and no risk. The fighters enjoy themselves." She explained. "I believe that's where you'll find your evo. Its actually two birds with one stone. Someone has been assaulting our evos and I believe the one who lured you here wants you to shut us down."

"You think it's the same person or they're working together." Rex realized.

"Yup, cute and smart." She complimented him. "We'll go to register tomorrow, it's the start of the new tournament. Once I explain the situation to Cardinal he'll be on board one hundred percent and you'll get to talk to him so Providence doesn't freak out." She looked at Sixx as she spoke. "I'll be your sponsor so no one will object to an unregistered outsider." She stood up and placed money on the table. "Let's go, shall we?" She headed for the door.

"Wait, why are you helping us?" Sixx asked, it made her stop abruptly. "And don't say its an even situation. You're going out of your way to help us even though it could possibly ruin your reputation. You're also putting the Birds' Nest at risk because you know I have to report back. Why?"

She turned around, her cheeks were red, an embarrassed smile on her face. "Rex, of course." She pointed to him. "When I first saw him, it gave me butterflies. It may be risky for something silly as a crush but I just want to help."

Rex seemed stunned by her statement. Noah smiled and put his hand on Rex's shoulder. "At least she's honest."

"Woah, woah, woah! Let me get this straight, you. Have a crush. On me?" Rex could hardly believe what he was saying.

"Is that so hard for you to believe?" Her eyes dazzled him with a curious glance. She laughed. "Come on, you guys can stay at my house for the night."

Rex gave Bobo a victorious look. "Eh, the birdie has low standards."

"You just can't let me win, can you?" Rex frowned.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~GR~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Thanks for the dinner." Rex smiled at her. "You have some awesome cooking skills."

"Thank you. I think we should turn in for the night. Tomorrow is gonna be hectic." Crow turned the sink off, finished with the dishes. "The guest rooms are down the hall."

"Sweet!" Noah and Rex wandered off down the hallway.

"I still want an answer to my first question." Sixx said as he dried dishes. "Who are you really?"

She put the leftovers in the fridge and then looked Sixx in the eye. "I have given you the answer to all the questions I have answers for." Bobo, who was sitting on the bar stool sipping iced tea, raised an eyebrow to the comment. Crow started wiping down the counters.

"You don't know who you are?" Sixx asked.

"Why must you restate what I just told you? Its not that big of a deal."

"It is a big deal!" Rex startled her with his outburst, he had overheard Sixx's comment. "Don't you at least have someone who knew you before you got amnesia?"

"Well, Tex, but his memory is only slightly greater than mine. I can only remember up to eight months ago. His goes back three years." She shook her head. "Rex, don't worry about it. Its not like I want my memory back anyways, if it comes to me then okay but otherwise don't stress over it." She clapped her hands together. "Now off to bed, you better be able to kick butt and take names tomorrow."

"Uh…okay."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~GR~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Crow quietly stepped past the open door of the guest room. Too late, Rex had rolled over and noticed her. He sat up and walked out of the room. He could see her next to the nightlight in the kitchen. "Crow, what are you doing up?" She seemed to jump out of her skin as he spoke.

"Sheesh, Rex, you scared me." She sighed. "I was getting some hot chocolate because I couldn't sleep. It helps me relax."

"Huh, you'd think the sugar would keep you wired." He joked and she giggled. It got quiet.

"Rex, can I show you something?" Crow asked.

"Depends, am I gonna regret it later?"

She laughed softly. "Hopefully not. Come on, follow me."

Rex followed her outside, he couldn't help but be curious. It was strange, this girl had charm, brains, and she laughed at his jokes; not to mention she was cute. How Sixx saw 'sneaky conspirator' he would he could never understand. What he and Sixx could agree on was that she seemed like she was hiding something….. Then again, he thought, it could be one of those times when Sixx is over reacting about something and he's giving in to suspicion. He noticed the trees that they passed. The looked like oak trees and pine trees. He noticed she stopped in front of a cliff side.

"It's a steep climb but-" she said.

"It's okay," His mechanical wings built out of his back. "I've got it covered." He put his goggles over his eyes and held out his hand. "Do you trust me?"

She smiled and took his hand. "Do you even have to ask?" He pulled her close and put his arm around her.

"Hold on tight." He took off towards the top of the cliff and landed gently on the ground. "So what did you want to show me?"

"Close your eyes." She told him, he gave her a confused look. She giggled and held out her hand. "Do you trust me?"

"Huh, déjà vu." He smiled and shut his eyes while placing his hand in hers. She led him forward. "This better not be one of those tease me and ditch me in the forest kind of things." She laughed.

"Ok, stop. Now open your eyes and look up." Rex opened his eyes, they were on the cliff side. When he looked up his eyes grew wide with amazement. The sky was sprinkled with star that looked like glitter on a dark purple cloth. There were little wisps of clouds which looked as if they were wrapped around the stars. "This is my favorite spot. Not even the Birds' Nest knows about it. I come here when I need to clear my head. It's my secret base in a way." She turned and pointed towards a dim lit dome in the distance, it was surrounded by trees and barely visible. "That's the Birds' Nest. Only members and their guests are allowed unless its tournament time. That's where we're going tomorrow."

She smiled to herself, seeming satisfied with her knowledge of the land.

"Crow," Rex started as he looked at her as she gazed into the distance. "Do you really not care about your memory? Your family? Who you were?"

"Hah, I see why I like you so much." She smiled at him. "You're really sweet. Well, I don't have such resources as Providence and there are so many people depending on me that I couldn't possibly waste time on something from my past." She cleared her throat. "That's what I would've told Sixx had he asked he asked me about it again."

"What would you tell me?" Rex asked.

"The truth, of course. I'm scared of finding out things about myself. What if I'm someone terrible or I've done something that I can't be forgiven for? I want to live my life now the way I want to, without regretting who I used to be." She got quiet for a while.

"I thought that once too. Every time we got close to finding something about my past I would wonder if its something I want to know. Now, there's no doubt in my mind, I want to know everything, even if it hurts me." He looked at her, she was smiling gently. "Did I say something weird?"

"No, not at all. Want me to share with you the only thing I know about my past?"

"Sure."

"Johanna." He looked a bit confused. "My real name, silly. Only you can call me that, when we're alone of course."

"Okay the, Johanna, let me ask you a question. You brought me all the way out here, shared your feelings and told me your real name."

"Yes, and?"

"Are you sure you didn't just want to get me alone?" He smirked.

She nudged him with her elbow and laughed. "Good sir, what are you implying?"

"Well," They turned to face each other. Her cheeks were a bit pink, she looked slightly nervous. "Am I making you nervous?" He joked.

"Shut up and kiss me if you're going to." Her face changed to a brighter shade of red. He leaned in close and kissed her on the lips.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~GR~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sixx wandered into the kitchen and sat at the table. He could hear the sizzling of bacon in the pan, he could smell it too. Suddenly, a cup of black coffee was placed in front of him. He looked up to see Crow, already awake and ready, cooking breakfast.

"Morning, Sixx." She said as Noah, Rex, and Bobo trailed into the kitchen. "Morning, boys."

"Woah," Noah yawned. "You're up early."

"Well, normally I'd sleep in till about noon but since the tournament is today and you guys want to catch your evo as well as my mystery attacker; I thought we might need to be moving early." While she was talking she had placed plates full of bacon, eggs, sausage and toast in front of them.

"Heh, we should hire her as a chef for Providence." Bobo joked as she handed him a cup of coffee. "Or maybe a barista."

"Nice to know I have job offers." She chuckled as she sat down.

"The birdie's in a surprisingly good mood." Bobo pointed out.

"Oh? I am?" She acted as if she hadn't noticed.

"Maybe it has something to do with you and Rex sneaking out last night." Sixx said. Everyone stopped.

"No way!" Noah laughed.

"Busted." Bobo added.

"Neither of us could sleep so we went for a walk, simple as that." Crow said as her face became increasingly red.

"Oh, Really?" Noah asked with a suspicious smirk on his face.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~GR~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They followed Crow as she swerved around the crowd. Evos were becoming more and more noticeable. Some were street performers and some were working in shops; even some were walking the streets in broad daylight. "Keep close, guys." Crow said as she walked ahead. Suddenly, she was out of view.

"Great, she says stay close but then we lose her in the crowd." Noah whined. The crowd itself finally thinned out, they couldn't see Crow anywhere.

"Hey, if it isn't Rex." A familiar face, Squid, Rex's old buddy. Following him, another familiar face, Cricket.

"Guys! What are you doing here?" Rex asked.

"We were about to ask you the same thing. We thought Providence didn't know about the Birds' Nest." Squid had a curious look on his face.

"Well, we didn't until yesterday. Actually, I'm entering the tournament."

"Really? You do understand that its filled with some of the strongest evos in the country, right?" Squid asked.

"I can take 'em. You never answered my question about why you're here."

"Well, Springfield is evo central-" Cricket started.

"There you are, bug!" A huge man showed up, he didn't look too intelligent.

"Crap, forgot about him." Squid frowned.

"You didn't pay the toll and you hit me, I'm gonna squish like a roach!" He growled. This man had to be three times Sixx's size. He looked furious. He lifted his thick arm up and got ready to swing. Right as his hand moved a few inches, it stopped. Crow had reappeared before them, her eyes narrowed into a threatening glare as she kicked the big man in the jaw, causing him to fall over.

" What's the meaning of this, Vulture?!" Crow demanded as the big man got back up. His expression had changed to a teary eyed frown as he rubbed his chin.

"Crow…I'm sorry but they wouldn't pay the toll." he cried.

"What toll? Since when was there a toll for evos entering the city?" she asked.

"Condor put it up this morning."

"Condor? The new guy?" She asked. "Then I'll have a chat with him, now go before I get even more angry." He rushed to his feet and ran off.

"No way, you're Crow! The Crow!" Cricket was astonished by her. "The strongest of the fighters in the Birds' Nest! Famed to be one of the biggest supporters of evo rights in the country."

"Yes, and I apologize for the rude welcome. Don't blame Vulture, he's kind of slow so he normally does what people tell him to. If it's a member, that is." she turned to Rex. "You guys okay?"

"Fine, I would've knocked him out if you hadn't stepped in." Rex joked. "Didn't know you had that in you."

"Why not? I'm a famous member of the Birds' Nest, you have to have skills to be a protector." She laughed.

"Yeah, next time warn us about the ninja skills." Noah added.

"You know each other?" Squid asked Rex.

"Met yesterday, she's entering me the tournament. Crow, meet Cricket and Squid. They're old friends of mine."

"Well, any friend of Rex is a friend of mine. Here, let me introduce you to Cardinal. We're on our way to the Nest anyways."

"The leader? We couldn't possibly-" Cricket panicked.

"Its okay, I have to discuss Condor's behavior with him so its no problem." Crow smiled. She turned and began walking. "Let's go, shall we?"

"Wow, Rex, she's-" Squid started.

"Cute?" Noah guessed.

"I was gonna say a dangerous choice but I'd be lying if I said that wasn't true." He laughed a bit.

The followed her down the street, nobody seemed to question her, but several stopped to greet her. They soon reached a gloomy, abandoned alley. It had torn cloth, most likely sheets, hanging from the clothes lines. She strolled past crates and garbage cans, a few alley cats and some rats. Rex had a strange look on his face while Sixx wore one of displeasure. "You sure you're going the right way?" Noah asked.

"Oh, its right here." She stopped at a sheet which hung down like a curtain. She grabbed it. "Right this way, my friends." She pulled it aside to reveal a dark tunnel made of bricks. "It's at the end of this tunnel." They all entered it, Sixx hesitated for a moment but was dragged in by Rex. She followed, releasing the curtain behind her. After about five minutes of walking, they reached where the light shined at the end.

It opened up to a huge and almost forest like room, there were crates and furniture everywhere, but no people or evos. "Let the show begin."

END


	2. Chapter 2

**Generator Rex**

Mission 2/ Cardinal's Champion

"Doesn't look like anyone's here." Noah looked around curiously. The Birds' Nest looked empty, and abandoned.

"That's 'cause we're early. Time to wake everyone up." She pulled drumsticks out of an empty paint can. She ran them across the bars of a balcony. A man peaked out over the balcony.

"Woah, Crow! Diggin' that sound. Let me kick it up." She handed him the drumsticks. He began tapping on the bars in a rhythmic pattern. Suddenly, there was movement in the Nest. People began emerging from the bushes and small tree house like things.

"He's got a beat going!" Tapping on trashcans began, and suddenly the playing of an electric guitar. Music erupted all over the Nest.

"This is cool." Sqwydd laughed in amazement.

"Ha, knew you'd say that." Crow laughed.

"Yo, Crow!" A girl with blonde hair floated to the ground in front of him. She spotted the 'guests.' "Who are they?"

"Hey, Canary. These are my new friends. Noah, Bobo, Sixx, Sqwydd, Cricket," She pulled Rex closer. "This is Rex, my entry for the tournament."

"Wow, is he any good?" She eyed Rex with a curious expression.

"He's gotta be if Crow picked him." A strange girl with neon purple hair approached them. "Hey, Crow." She smiled at Crow.

"Hey, Raven. Guys, this is Canary and Raven. They're members of the Birds' Nest."

"Nice to meet you." Canary smiled brightly while Raven gave a less ambitious smile.

"Charmed." She nodded.

"Have you guys seen Sparrow?" Crow asked.

"He's in the Garage, as usual." Raven answered but her eyes were too busy scanning the strangers she had just met. Her eyes stopped on Sixx and a grim look captured her face. "Crow," she grabbed her shoulder and whispered in her ear. "You wouldn't let your infatuation compromise the Nest, would you?"

"Raven, if you have time to question my motives and actions, shouldn't you be prepping for tournament? Before Cardinal throws a fit." Raven released her shoulder, shaking her head. Crow turned to the group. "To the Garage, then."

She led them past people who were dancing, singing, playing instruments. Suddenly an explosion went off. She stopped Sixx and Rex from rushing towards it. "That came from the Garage, meaning Sparrow blew something up again."

"Or it could be your mystery attacker." Rex said, with a serious look on his face. Crow busted up laughing.

"Sorry, but if our attacker is stupid enough to attack Sparrow himself, not adding the fact he's in the Garage, then I'm worrying over nothing. Sparrow can handle himself."

They reached the Garage entrance, the smoke was escaping out of the doors and windows. Another explosion went off, sending a girl with short brown hair through the doors. She sat up, rubbing her head.

"Hey, Chickadee, you still alive?" Said a male voice coming from the Garage.

"No thanks to you, you pyro!" She growled back. He walked out of the Garage. He was a bit shorter than Sixx, long brown hair restrained by a rubber band, goggles covered his eyes and leather work gloves on his hands. He helped Chickadee up.

"Sorry 'bout that." He chuckled. He spotted Crow and the group. "Oh, new toys?" he joked.

"Shut up." She laughed.

"You must be Rex." He said. "Crow told me about you guys…. Except for you two."

"I'm Sqwydd."

"And I'm Cricket." She blushed as she introduced herself.

"So what's with the explosions?" Noah asked.

"Oh, that's what happens when you play with bombs." Sparrow said as he yawned.

"Bombs?" It made Sixx shift uneasily.

"Yup, we had a problem with a terrorist, and he planted bombs all over Springfield. We found them but each one is different, so its trial and error when it comes to disarming them. I hit one wrong thing and-"

"I get blown out the door." Chickadee glared at him.

"I said sorry, what do you want me to do, buy you a car?" He said sarcastically. "You guys want to blow stuff up?"

"A chance to blow stuff up with no consequences? Sweet." Rex attempted to go into the garage but Sixx grabbed the back of his shirt.

"Rex, remember why we're here."

"Oh come on, Sixx. Relax. Can't you go five minutes without trumping my attempts to have fun?" Rex frowned.

"Don't worry about it, Sixx." Crow told him. "Let them have their fun for now." Sixx let Rex go and they vanished into the Garage. "Besides, you want to talk to Cardinal, don't you?" She began walking and he followed. She stopped after a few minutes and pointed to a shack surrounded by tables. "Take a seat and you can order anything on my tab. Cardinal will meet you there."

"How will he know its me?"

"I told him to look for a man who looks like Agent Smith from the Matrix in a green suit." He gave her a strange look. "What? Would you rather me not make a cool movie reference?" She turned and, with a bounce in her step, headed back for the Garage.

Sixx sat down at a table and ordered coffee, black. He had way too many unanswered questions and every question Crow answered gave him more. No offense to her, she'd been unnaturally kind to them so far, but there was something off about her. She was incredibly skilled for a human and the fact she had no memory could mean anything. She could have been raised to be an assassin or- He stopped himself. What was he thinking? She'd done nothing, she knows nothing, why was he being so fickle towards her? Rex seemed to like her, a lot. He knew she had to be hiding something, but who wasn't nowadays? Even he had his secrets. He snapped out of his thoughtful daze and noticed a man sit in the other chair across from him. He had long, wild, ruby red hair but his eyes were two different colors; one was green while the other was clear and had two slash scars across it. He was wearing a strange scarlet trench coat with black belts all over it.

"First time in the Birds' Nest?" He smiled when he posed the question. His eyes hinted that he already knew the answer to the question.

"Yeah, its rare seeing evos and humans getting along like this. It's almost like a town."

"That's the point, isn't it? If only the rest of humanity could follow their example." He sighed and frowned, a bit disappointed.

"So Crow told you I'd be coming." Sixx jumped to the conclusion, this must be Cardinal.

"Nope." He leaned back in his chair.

"You're not Cardinal?" Sixx asked.

"I am Cardinal."

"But you said-"

"I said Crow didn't tell me about you, not that I wasn't Cardinal." A waiter placed a cup of coffee in front of Sixx and another in front of Cardinal. "I have eyes all over the city so everything gets reported to me so there's no need for her to tell me anything."

"Then why is there a problem?" Sixx asked.

"I never said my system wasn't flawed. I believe we have a bug in our system. I believe Rex can lure it out. I get my roach and you get your evo…. But I'm having a second issue now."

"That would be?" Sixx raised an eyebrow. His gut feeling told him he wasn't going to like this.

"Crow. She's a full fledged member of the Birds' Nest but where her priorities lie…questionable." Cardinal frowned. "She's used to praise so I don't understand why she's gone this far."

"What do you mean?" Sixx was more than interested now.

"She's a member of course, but we practically had to beg her to join. If it weren't for her brother she never would've."

"Her brother?"

"Sparrow. She isn't some bleeding heart who would instantly jump in to help anyone with a sob story."

'Sparrow must be Tex.' Sixx thought to himself. If Crow was so uncaring, why? Why would she stake everything on them. A ringing interrupted his thought. Cardinal pulled out his phone.

"Ah, I must be going. I have to get to the arena before the tournament starts. I hope to see you there." He stood up. "Last word of advice. I told you about Crow, so you should keep in mind, she's just as big of a suspect as anyone else. You've seen what happens when she's challenged. Keep an eye on her for me, will you?" He walked off.

Sixx couldn't tell exactly what he meant but he was getting the hint, don't trust Crow. He knew he couldn't tell Rex this, he'd get defensive and say he was paranoid. He headed towards the Garage, where he could see constant explosions going off in the air. Once he reached the door, he stopped before entering. His feeling about Crow, could it have something to do with her being the attacker? He hadn't thought about it much before because he asked them to find the culprit. Could she be attempting to frame someone? Was that what she was hiding? He pushed the thought to the back of his mind. He was getting way too ahead of himself. He pushed past the door into the Garage. He spotted them, standing under the opening in the roof, watching Sparrow launch the bombs in the air while Rex shot them; forcing them to combust.

"Woah, nice shot." Sqwydd shielded his eyes from the sun.

"Thank you." Rex bowed his head, a smug grin on his face.

"Ah, I think I can top that." Sparrow smiled.

"No way!" Rex shook his head.

"Want to make that a bet?" He looked at Chickadee. "Launch!" She released the lever and sent a small bundle rocketing into the sky. Sparrow took a fighting stance, his arm pulled back, his hand started glowing. A small orb charged up in his palm, he lunged his hand forward, shooting a beam of energy at the bomb. It exploded, and exploded again, raining little purple beams of light like fireworks. It quickly vanished.

"Sorry, Rex. He's got you beat." Noah laughed.

"Wow, how'd you do that?" Cricket asked in awe of Sparrow.

"I used my nanites to charge the nanites in the surrounding space. I charge it and then release it. Fun part of being an evo." He chuckled.

"Huh, didn't know you were an evo." Rex smirked. He spotted Sixx in the doorway. "Yo, Sixx. Finished talking to Cardinal?"

"Yes." He looked at Crow. "We should head to the arena."

"Good idea." Crow smiled.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~GR~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The crowd roared with excitement as Cardinal stood up from his throne on the balcony. With a smirk on his face and an air of arrogance about him, he raised his hand and the crowd became silent. Rex and the group watched from the windows peeking into the arena, one of the best views you could have, except it was for fighters only. "Welcome, one and all, to the arena!" Cardinal's voice carried and echoed throughout the arena. The crowd cheered but was silenced again with a small hand gesture. "This new tournament will bring new surprises and new challenges for everyone, fighter and patron alike. We have a variety of new fighters along with our old favorites, both evo and human. They'll compete with each other in order to face our grand champion!" The crowd went wild again.

"Wow," Noah said, impressed. "He sure knows how to get the crowd going."

"Yeah, its rare seeing so many humans and evos getting along with each other." Cricket smiled.

"Eh, you get used to it." Sparrow chuckled.

"Just wait until I get into the arena- hey, where's Crow go?" Rex looked around. Crow was no where in sight.

"And now!" Cardinal announced. "A sneak peek of what's to come! A quick demonstration from our champion!" As he spoke a group of evos entered the arena, lead by a lizard like man. "Our challengers! Some of the finest evo warriors alive! Versus," he looked at the opposite gate as it lifted, releasing a cloud of dust. "Crow!" The dust cleared to reveal Crow. She walked towards the center of the arena. The crowd was in an uproar over her.

"No way!" Rex was stunned. "Crow's the champion?!"

"I could've told you that." Sparrow said. "She's one of our strongest members."

"B-b-but- why didn't anyone tell me this?!"

"Because you never asked." Sparrow said bluntly.

"Heh." The lizard man scoffed. "Crow's a little girl, eh? Is this some kind of a joke?"

"A joke, you say? We shall see!" Cardinal smiled as he raised his hand in the air. He swung his hand down and shouted, "Begin!"

"She's only human! Those evos will rip her apart!" Noah couldn't believe his eyes.

"If you remember correctly, Sixx is human too." Bobo pointed out.

"I'll jump in if anything bad happens." Rex reassured him.

"Uh, Rex, I hate to rain on your parade but-" Sqwydd started.

"The match is over already." Sixx finished.

"Wait- what?" Rex looked out the window. The entire group of evos was on the ground, unconscious. Crow stood in the middle of them. "Did I miss something?"

"Yeah, the fight." Sparrow smiled and Rex glared at him. "I know, stating the obvious."

"That's showing them how its done!" Cardinal clapped.

Crow turned and headed back towards the gate. The lizard man sat up, shaking his head to avert the dizziness. He growled and then charged at her. "Crow, look out!" As the lizard man swung his claws at her, she dodged. She grabbed his wrist, pulled him close and slammed her knee into his jaw. He dropped to the ground. Crow's eyes had lost the energetic gleam of interest that they shone when she was around Rex and it was replaced by a dull look of malice. 'Its like she's not even the same person.' Rex couldn't believe what he saw. Sparrow looked at him thoughtfully, he could easily tell what Rex was thinking.

"Our champion remains the same! Give her a hand!" The crowd was ecstatic at Crow's display of skill and strength.

"If you're done choking on words, she's heading back this way." Sqwydd joked. They all started walking down the hall in the direction of the gate.

"Hold on a minute, Rex." Sparrow grabbed Rex's arm as he started walking. "Can I have a word with you?" He looked at the group. "We'll catch up."

"Don't take too long, Crow will start worrying." Noah laughed at the thought.

Sparrow waited until they were a safe distance away. "Rex, did Crow tell you…" he started hesitantly.

"That you're her brother, Tex? We talked about it last night. I figured you were either her brother or her boyfriend, and option two would've been awkward."

"Heh, she was right, you do have a sense of humor." He smiled but it quickly vanished. "You caught a glimpse of it just now." Rex expression changed to a serious one.

"What is 'it'?"

"What she was like when she first lost her memory. I was surprised today. I haven't seen a smile like that in a very long time, she normally just fakes it." He ran his fingers through his hair and shook his head. "Don't worry, that means you're good for her, Rex. Do me a favor, will you?"

"What's the favor?"

"Sometimes she looks up at the sky for a long period of time, like she might take off. Snap her out of it."

"Are you yanking my chain?"

"I'm serious, Rex. Maybe it has something to do with something that happened a long time ago, but it scares me when she gets like that."

"Rex!" Crow ran towards him. She nearly tripped but Rex caught her arms. "I thought you ran off or something."

He looked at Sparrow, but shook off the thought and smiled. "Ha, like I'd give up the chance to kick butt in front of a crowd."

"Good, because I convinced Cardinal to let you go first in the first round. I gave Noah and the gang seats in the balcony with Cardinal. Come on, I'll walk you to the gate." She looked at Sparrow.

"I better go check on the other contestants." He waved as he walked off.

"You know, I just remembered. I forgot to ask Sqwydd and Cricket what they're doing here and where Circe and Tuck are." He started walking towards the gate, Crow gripping his arm.

"You can ask them after your match."

After a few minutes of walking, they stopped in front of the gate. Rex gave her a devious smile. "How 'bout a good luck kiss?"

"How about a victory kiss?" She trumped his request. He frowned in response. "What are they worth if I don't make you work for them?"

"Fine," he put his goggles over his eyes. "But it better be on the lips."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~GR~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"First round! In our first match, we have the mysterious speed demon, Sheeva." Cardinal announced as a female evo walked the gate. "Don't let her beautiful appearance fool you, she's as fast with a blade as she is on her feet. She's an old favorite in the arena. Versus a newcomer! He's never before been in the arena but he's fought and cured evos around the world! I present to you, Rex!" A murmur went through the crowd as Rex walked into the arena.

"No cheering, of course." Rex frowned, then he heard clapping. Crow was sitting on the edge of the balcony clapping her hands with a smile on her face. Sqwydd stepped forward and started clapping, followed by Cricket, Noah, Sparrow, even Sixx. "Huh, looks like I got some fans." He smiled and looked at Sheeva. "I don't usually hit girls, but I'll make an exception."

"Don't assume I'll go easy on you." She teased.

"Huh, I was gonna tell you the same thing."

"Ready? Fight!"

Sheeva charged at him, katana in hand. She struck from the right, only to be blocked by his shields. He smiled and jumped back, retracting his shield. He swung a hug metal fist at her, she back flipped to avoid it. The crowd gasped in amazement but then cheered and whistled. "Now I have your attention." Rex let the crowd's cheering sink in a little, it felt good being a hero. "Woah!" He dodged the katana as Sheeva lunged at him, she barely missed. She swung sideways at him but he dropped to the ground, on his back, ducking under the blade. No time to revel in the glory, he told himself. The girl of your dreams is watching and possibly judging you…. And you really want that victory kiss. When Sheeva approached, he booted her in the stomach, sending her flying, and launching him back onto his feet. "Had enough?"

"You are pretty good." She smiled and slid down the wall, unconscious.

"Sheeva is unable to battle, our winner is Rex!" Cardinal announced as the crowd went wild. They were thrilled by the sight of him. "Looks like we have a new favorite in the arena!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~GR~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rex rushed towards the balcony, a huge grin on his face. He stopped, he heard talking from around the corner. It sounded like Crow and Cardinal, he peeked, it was Crow and Cardinal. Cardinal's tone was a bit agitated. "I'm not saying that you have to now, I'm just reminding you."

"Cardinal, that's not fair!"

"News flash, life isn't fair. I don't have to remind what would happen if this gets out of control."

"I-! I know." She frowned.

Rex wondered what they could be talking about. At this point it could be anything, he had to remind himself he didn't know much about her. He froze, he heard laughter. He turned around to see a boy, around his age. He had a Mohawk, long in the back, and horns on his head, like a bull. He had black markings on his cheeks and snake bite piercing in his lips. "Must suck watching your girlfriend get grilled by the boss and not being able to do anything about it, eh, Rex?"

"What makes you think I won't do anything about it?"

"Don't even joke, this is out of your hands. One false move and the little black birdie is bye-bye. You do realize its all your fault she's getting yelled at, don't you?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You tell me, pet of Providence." He smirked. "You're exactly what Cardinal was trying to keep away and the idiot brought you here without even thinking about our safety, you must feel pretty lucky."

"Condor!" Crow had rounded the corner, she walked past Rex and stopped a few feet away from Rex's visitor. His shadow had jumped up, pointing like spears, centimeters from her throat. She didn't even flinch at it, Condor couldn't help but smile.

"Hehehe…" It started as a low chuckle and grew to a hysterical laugh. "Hahaha! You crack me up. Can't even get you to jump, can I? The big bad Crow, eh? Everyone's so worked up over a little thing like you…." The laughter and smile were gone, they were replaced by an enraged look. "You disgust me. Tell me, is he worth it? Worth what Cardinal is going to put you through once Providence is knocking on our doorstep?" He glanced at Rex. Her eyes stayed focused on Condor. He growled. "Quit giving me that look!" The spikes got closer to her throat.

"That's enough!" Rex crushed them with a huge metal fist. "Back off, Condor. I mean it."

He smiled again. "Okay. We'll settle this in the arena." His shadow sank back into the ground. He walking away but stopped a few feet away. "The world is changing, Rex. Evos are getting stronger and soon, we won't have to hide." He walked off.

Once Rex was sure he wasn't turning around, he went back to normal. "Are you okay?"

He looked at her. She smiled.

"Yeah, he's nothing to sweat over. All bark and no bite, though he wasn't like that before."

"He wasn't?"

"He had attitude of course, but he wasn't' that bad." She shook her head.

"Maybe, he's the leak." Rex said.

"It's possible. He's fairly new and he's got such a temper-"

"Wait, he said we'd fight in the arena, he's in the tournament?"

"Yeah, your point?"

"Just a hunch. It's nothing to worry about if I'm wrong. I'll talk to Sixx and see what he thinks."

"Okay, I guess." She was a bit confused.

"So," a huge grin spread across his face. "Isn't there something you want to give me?"

"Oh, what?"

"My victory kiss." he pointed to his lips.

"Oh? Oh! Haha, nearly forgot about that."

"It's a good thing I didn't." She looked around suspiciously. "What are you doing?"

"Making sure no ones looking. I'm not good with public displays of affection." She stepped closer and kissed him, then- CLICK! They looked to see Sqwydd with his camera phone out.

"Oh, that was a nice shot." Sparrow peeked over his shoulder.

"Thanks, it's a new phone. It takes great pictures." Sqwydd chuckled.

"Sqwydd!" Rex looked at Crow, her face was beet red.

"Rex, we were only having a little fun." Cricket reassured him.

"There we go, message sent." Sqwydd put his phone back in his pocket.

"Who did you just send that to?" Rex panicked.

"You'll never guess." He laughed.

"Alright! That's enough fun for now!" Crow interrupted, trying to compose herself. "We're crowding the hallway. Back to the balcony to watch the next matches." She started pushing them along. Of course Sixx didn't go with. He glanced at Rex.

"Something on your mind?" He asked.

"Yeah, can you ask Cardinal to give me a list of all the people who were attacked and whether or not they were registered for the tournament?"

"You're thinking sabotage?" Sixx asked.

"Just something Condor said. He said he'd face me in the arena and that evos were stronger than ever, which I know but then he said we wouldn't have to hide anymore."

He heard clapping. Cardinal was leaning against the wall.

"Great deductive skills, Crow was right. You'd lure out our little roach with no problem." He smiled. "Sure, I'll get you a list."

"Cardinal, what are you not saying?" Sixx asked.

"You do know that Condor's are birds of prey, right? The largest birds of prey in fact. I wouldn't give that title to some random member. Condor's incredibly strong."

"But?" Sixx implied that there was more.

"A couple days ago, he got stronger out of no where. I had sent him, Vulture, Chickadee and Canary on a mission to round up some evos. Simple really, they were originally ladybugs, vegetarians, but they were eating trees and that's something Providence would notice when the mountains are picked clean. When they got there, there were a few bugs that were different than the others, bigger and stronger but worse; they were carnivorous."

"Well, that happens from time to time." Rex pointed out.

"You saw his shadow right? How it jumped of the ground? It's part of him more or less, he can move it in any way he wants. The catch was that it was only his shadow. It was noon when those bugs charged and you imagine my comrades surprise when Condor moved a shadow the size of a building."

"Wait, what? How?"

"It's like he made his shadow grow and expand, no one had ever seen anything like it before. I'm warning you, if you think Condor is the culprit, tread carefully and if you ever end up facing him in the arena, you better show that your reputation isn't all show. That day, his shadow didn't just swallow up the bugs, it swallowed up four whole cabins." He caught Sixx's glance. "I'm surprised, Sixx. Providence and White Knight aren't banging on my door. Have you failed to report in?"

"Holding off. Knight likes answers." Rex explained. "And don't worry about me, I'll live up to my reputation."

"You better. For both your's and Crow's sake." He walked off.

**END**


	3. Chapter 3

**Generator Rex**

Mission 3/ Bird of Prey

Rex watched Crow as she eyed the tournament board intensely. He couldn't stop thinking about what Cardinal had said. Not that it was a problem for him, he didn't plan on losing any time soon. There were several names on the board that were covered by the words 'withdrawn.' Crow seemed to eye some of the names longer than others, with a disconcerted look on her face. He thought about it, processed his idea and then decided to go for it. "Hey," He put his arm around her shoulder, she jumped a bit. "Something on your mind?"

"Some of the withdrawn, I know them."

"Withdrawn?" He questioned.

"People who withdrew from the tournament. I wonder why there are so many. One or two normally, but this is about a dozen."

"Maybe I was right and your mystery attacker is someone in the tournament. He could be eliminating his competitors."

"That's what I'm afraid of." She sighed and noticed Rex's arm. She flinched at the sight of it. She removed it and pushed him away a bit. It confused Rex a bit, wasn't she in to him? Where'd this come from? "I gotta go… to the lady's room." She ran off.

"Que?"

"That was weird." Noah walked up with Bobo.

"I know. She's flirting one minute, and now she's running away." Rex shrugged.

"Maybe the birdie finally realized she can have higher standards." Bobo chuckled.

"Not helping." Rex glared at him. "It seemed more like she was hiding something from me." He thought about it. He overheard a small portion of a conversation that two people who were passing by were having. He stopped them. "Excuse but what were you talking about?"

"Oh, we were talking about the harbinger of death, the black angel."

"What's that?" Noah asked.

"Well there's this black winged creature that people have been spotting. They say its shaped like a person but no ones ever got close enough to see what it really looks like. They say where ever it goes, it causes destruction and panic."

"Sounds like our evo except our evo looked shapeless." Rex looked lost in thought. "Well, I'll ask Sixx to see what he can find- hey, where is Sixx?" Noah and Bobo shrugged and shook their heads.

"Beats me." Bobo added.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~GR~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sixx clicked his communicator. "Holiday. I need your opinion on something."

{"That something would be?"} She inquired.

"We met a girl. Rex seems to like her but there's something off about her."

{"Let me guess, she's a crazy teenage girl and she's bothering you."}

"Well your right on both parts, but I watched her take down seven evos in about thirty seconds."

{"I see why you're worrying. I don't see how that's possible."}

"I do but I'm hoping its not what I'm thinking."

{"Why?"}

"If I am, I might have to take her out before she get's any closer to Rex." A very serious tone accompanied Sixx's comment. He couldn't help it, when it came to Rex, it was like walking on glass. Painful and not much fun at all. He sighed. "Sixx, out." He clicked his communicator off and headed towards the arena. Rex's match had already started and he was winning. He noticed Crow walking away, she looked back to see if anyone noticed before exiting the room. That was suspicious. He followed her down the hall. "Strange, I thought you were here to cheer Rex on." Sixx made her jump. She turned to see him.

"Oh, Sixx. What are you doing? Rex's match has already started."

"I know, which makes me curious as to why you're running off."

"Well, I have something that I need to attend to and there are so many people cheering him on that Rex won't even notice I'm gone." She gave him a smile, fake of course, even an amateur would notice that.

"You're wrong about that. That's something he would definitely notice." He approached her. "Rex cares about you, the only reason he's in this tournament is for you, you know that right?"

"….." She looked at way. "I don't need to hear this."

"You can't even look at me. Then just listen, if you even care for Rex in the slightest, you'll be honest with him." He started walking away. "And if you hurt him, I'll deal with you myself."

Crow could feel a little stab when he said that. "It's because I care for him that I can't tell him." She whispered when he was out of ear shot.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~GR~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Round three, Rex wins!

Round four, Rex wins!

Round five, Rex wins!

Round six, Rex wins! Again.

Rex continued to win all of his matches but as the rounds went by, it seemed Crow got more and more distant. He couldn't tell if there was something wrong or if she was just losing interest in him. Honestly, he was too afraid to ask. It seemed like things just went from strange to bad in less than two days. After he won round seven, he snapped. He was getting ready for his final match before the championship match and he wasn't going to let things go until he got an answer. He walked down the hallway, spotting Crow staring out the window, up at the sky no less. "Crow!" She snapped out of her daze as he called out to her. She began to run off when he slammed his hands on the wall on both sides, keeping her from running either direction. "Oh no you don't. You're not escaping this time."

"Rex-" She started.

"Why are you avoiding me? You went from crazy about me to avoiding me like the plague in less than two days." He said it. His expression showed his impatience for her answer. He wasn't going to stall any longer.

"Rex, I- I really don't…" She paused and swallowed nervously. "I don't have an answer to that question." She flinched when he started moving. She notice him backing away from her. He had removed his hands from the wall and put them in his pockets.

"It figures you wouldn't. I was serious about you too, too bad. Sorry for wasting your time, I'll leave once I finish my last match." He walked off.

Crow began to tear up. "Rex, wait!"

He stopped and looked at her. "Sorry, Johanna. I'm sick of waiting." He turned and walked away. Truthfully, he wanted to go back. He wanted to turn around and run up to her and embrace her and say that it was okay. He wanted to just ignore the fact that she couldn't tell him the truth but he couldn't. He continued walking until he was out of her sight.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~GR~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Ready for the final round?" Cardinal riled up the crowd. They were all standing and screaming and cheering. "He's made his way through the rounds and has become a new favorite among the arena, give it up for Rex!" The crowd went into an uproar as Rex entered the arena. It was strange, he wasn't even putting on his usual hero persona. "And his opponent, one of the Birds' Nest's very own, Condor!" Condor walked into the arena with a big smirk on his face.

"What's the matter, Rex?" He chuckled. "Heart broken?" He didn't answer, he just glared at him. "Well, that's what happens when you stick your nose where it doesn't belong."

"Ready, Fight!" Cardinal announced.

Condor was the first to start moving, his shadow leaped of the ground. Rex attempted to build out… but it stopped. He dodged a whip like tentacle and jumped back. "Come on! Not now!" There was a beep in his communicator, it was Doctor Holiday.

{"Rex, your biometrics have flat lined."}

"Thanks, Doc, but-" He jumped sideways to dodge again. "-kind of noticed that already."

{"What happened?"}

"Nothing, Doc." He ran around, avoiding Condor's shadow as it speared at him.

{"Does this have anything to do with this girl Sixx was talking about?"}

"Thanks for spilling the beans, Sixx." He said sarcastically. "It's… sort of complicated-" He ducked. "Doc, this is not the best time to talk about this."

"What's the matter, Providence dog? Stop running and fight me!" Condor demanded.

"Come on, you stupid biometrics!" He tried to build out again, but failed. He jumped out of the way as a shadow speared the wall, leaving a hole. "I may look like Swiss cheese by the time this is over."

Crow had returned to the balcony where they were watching from. "What's going on? Why isn't Rex fighting back?"

"His biometrics must have dropped, he's useless in this fight until they go back up. I wonder what made them go down to begin with." Sixx stopped and looked at the expression on Crow's face. She looked like she felt guilty about something.

Crow turned to Cardinal, who sat in his throne like seat. Cardinal glanced at her curiously. She turned back to the arena, her fingers clenching the balcony railing. Sixx noticed it. She suddenly leaped over the railing into the arena. She landed right between Rex and Condor. " You can have your match against me, Condor! Just let Rex go!"

"Sorry, but that wasn't part of the agreement I made." He shook his head.

"What agreement?" Rex asked as he stood up.

"In exchange for charging up my powers, I have to get rid of you." He said. "Now stand aside, Crow. You don't need to get involved in this."

"What do you mean involved?" Crow asked.

"You and Cardinal spend all your time making sure evos have a comfortable life here, but its still hiding! Humans outside of Springfield still treat us like monsters, well I've had enough! You should be on my side! Aren't you tired of always having to come to everyone's rescue! You're a good person so I'll tell you once more, get out of my way!"

"Who I was before… probably would've taken that offer, but I now, I won't let you hurt Rex!"

"So be it!" His shadow lunged at them. She grabbed Rex's hand and pulled him away from the spikes.

"We need to stop this before it gets out of hand. How fast can you get your biometrics back up?" She asked as she let go of his hand and pushed him away to prevent him from getting skewered.

"I don't know, I'll try again." His hands glowed and then- nothing. "Come on! Work!"

"Rex!" He noticed the shadow spikes started turning into claws and they started grabbing at him. He jumped out of reach. Crow came crashing down on one of them. "You okay?"

"I'd be better if my nanites would start back up again."

"I'll deal with him so hurry!" She turned and bolted towards Condor, dodging whip like and spike like tentacles on her way. She flipped backwards to avoid another one and then bolted straight towards him. She slid under a scythe like tentacle and quickly got back to her feet. She jumped and planted her foot in the side of Condor's face. It twisted and melted into the shadows and reformed behind her. He punched her, sending her sliding across the dirt ground. She was quickly back on her feet, without hesitation, she lunged at him, swinging and kicking. Condor dodged as she attacked him, until finally he swung back. She caught his fist, a smirk on her face. "I know your weakness, you have to become solid to hit me." She punched his in the jaw, sending him sliding across the ground.

he rose to his feet, holding his jaw. "Even if I'm juiced up, I'm still not stronger than you."

"That's right. Give up now." Crow demanded.

"I- I can't!" Condor looked in shock. "My shadows-! I-I can't control them!" His shadow grow rapidly, crawling and striking all over the place.

"Uh- Rex!" Crow took a few steps back.

"Working on it!" He tried again.

Crow looked to the balcony. "Guys! Keep the crowd at a safe distance! Condor's lost control!" She looked back at Condor, his eyes were glowing gold, he looked no longer conscious of his actions. One of the tentacles whipped and knocked down the safety barriers, knocking some people into the arena. "Oh no!" She bolted towards them as it whipped back around at the people. She slid in the way as it swung down against her back. It tore the back of her shirt.

"No!" Immediately, Rex produced a sword and slashed right through the shadow. It let loose a shriek as it retreated back for a moment. "You okay?" He turned to see her back, there was a jagged cut over a faded tattoo like marking, wings. She quickly turned to face him.

"Yeah. How'd you get your biometrics back up?"

"Well, you were in danger. It's good motivation." He gave her a smile. "Are you sure you're okay? Your back is cut pretty badly."

"It's fine. We need to help Condor. He's lost control!"

"Sometimes it sucks being a hero." He sighed and stood up. "Alright, time to save his bacon." He turned and charged at him. He slashed through the shadows as they attempted to snare him. He stopped, readjusted himself, and started his saw. He cut through the shadows wrapping around his legs and headed straight for him. Suddenly, the shadows parted, it surprised Rex enough to make him stop. They shifted around and rushed at him in on huge strike.

"Rex!" Sixx noticed it. Rex closed his eyes and replaced his sword with a shield. Moments later…nothing. He opened his eyes and couldn't believe what he saw. Huge black wings shielded around him. They moved apart, the resulting wind blasts the shadows away. Rex turned, the wings belonged to Crow. Her hands turned black and sharpened into claws. Her wings twitched and spread wide, the black feathers shined in the sunlight.

"This ends now!" She growled before blitzed towards Condor. She slashed through shadows that clawed at her, they couldn't even latch on to her wings. Her feathers cut right through them. Rex was awestruck by it.

"She's an evo?! Well, that makes sense." Rex said as Sixx jumped into the arena near him.

"It explains the abnormal strength and why it felt like she was hiding something." He added.

"But… why did she feel like she needed to hide it at all? Especially from me?" Rex stopped for a moment and then clenched his fist. He got a serious look on his face and readied his slam cannon. "We have a job to do." As Sixx's blades slid out of his sleeves, Rex fired. "We need to stall him long enough to calm him down. I doubt he's curable but at least I can get rid of the extra juice."

"Sounds like a plan." Sixx nodded. He slashed through the shadows as they grabbed at him. Crow was gaining speed as she approached Condor. Soon it was a clear path to Condor. She had the perfect shot. She dodged one last whip before she reached him.

"You're finished!"

"Johanna, don't!" Rex called out, but before she could strike, her claws vanished and she grabbed Condor. She touched her forehead against his and he lit up with blue lines and the shadows began to dissipate. "She's not just an evo… she can cure them! She's just like me!"

"It's okay, Condor. Everything is okay. Just rest now." She slowly lowered him to the ground as the shadows vanished. She stopped and looked around. Whispers echoed through what was left of the crowd.

"She's an evo!"

"She's the black angel!"

"Figures, the harbinger of death is that nut job, Crow."

"She's a walking disaster zone!"

"Providence should take care of her!"

Rex knew what was about to happen. "Crow, no-!" She took off, straight into the air, and quickly vanished. Rex put his goggles over his eyes and took off after her. Why? Crow was a hero to them, they found out the truth and it took them a split second to turn on her, even though she had just saved their lives. Maybe, that's why she kept it hidden, she knew they would fear her, they'd hate her. She was scared. "Come on, where are you?" He couldn't spot her anywhere and then he remembered. "The fort!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~GR~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Sixx to Holiday." Sixx clicked on his communicator.

{"Sixx, what happened?"}

"She's an evo." He looked at Cardinal as he picked up the unconscious Condor.

{"Well, I figured as much."}

"Something you didn't expect, she can cure them. She can cure evos. She's just like Rex."

{"What? How? And… you said she also has amnesia?"}

"Is that a key factor?"

{"It might be a trend. Both her and Rex can cure evos and they're suffering from amnesia. There might be a certain connection. We need to bring her in so I can examine her."}

"You might not get that chance. She took off, Rex went after her."

She sighed. {"The troubled mind of a fragile teenage girl, it doesn't help that she's an evo either. Hopefully Rex can get through to her, not just for Providence; but for her sake."}

"If anyone can, its Rex. I have a feeling he's the person she really needs right now."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~GR~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rex spotted the cliff, he also spotted something black sitting in the grass, it was Crow. She was sitting with her wings closed around her. A low whimper came from inside. He landed in front of her and retracted his wings. He lifted his goggles onto his head. "Crow?"

"Go away." She spoke in between her hiccups. He got closer and grabbed her wings. He spread them apart to reveal Crow. Her cheeks were wet with tears and her eyes were red. She rubbed them and sniffled. "Why won't you people just leave me alone?"

"Because. You shouldn't have to be alone. Those people out there have no idea what you're going through but I do. Me and you, we're the same. Not only that, I don't want you to disappear. You should come with me, to Providence. I know it's the last place you'd want to be but… I don't want to lose you."

"Aren't you scared of me? You heard them, I'm bad luck. Every time I'm around, something bad happens."

"Lame superstition. You think I'm scared of a little bad luck? Come on, you don't have to be alone any longer, you have me. Do you trust me?" He smiled and held out his hand.

She sniffled and wiped her eyes before giving him a gentle smile. She grabbed his hand. "Do you even have to ask?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~GR~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rex waited impatiently as the jump jet readied for take off. No sign of Crow. He looked around and spotted Sparrow walking his direction with a bag slung over his shoulder. "Hey, Rex." He said with a smile.

"Sparrow, what's up? What's with the bag?"

"I'm going with you, of course. Figured Providence could use my knowledge of tech. Oh, and where Crow goes; I go. Part of being a big brother." He winked at him. "Where is she by the way?"

"That's what I want to know." Rex said. Cricket and Sqwydd ran up to him, out of breath. "You guys find her?"

"Nah, nowhere." Sqwydd shook his head.

"She might have got cold feet and ran off." Noah pointed out.

"Not helping." Rex frowned.

"We have to go." Sixx said straight out. "Rex, its not your fault. She-"

"Wait!" Crow ran up to them, out of breath. She was dressed in shorts, a tank top, an off the shoulders over-shirt, combat boots and gloves. The most unusual thing was her hair was cut short with bangs and pulled back into a little ponytail. She stood up straight, a serious frown on her face. "You guys were about to leave without me!"

"What'd you do to your hair?" Rex asked.

"Canary cut it for me since it got messed up really bad in the fight yesterday. Why? Does it look bad?"

"No, it looks great." Rex snapped his fingers. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot to ask. Cricket, Sqwydd, what are you two doing in Springfield?"

"Actually we got an invitation from Cardinal. He wanted to know if he started up a Nest in Hong Kong, if we would manage it." Cricket explained.

"Wow, that's pretty cool. It'll keep you guys busy."

"No kidding, you know how many evos are underground in Hong Kong? Good thing he's sending Chickadee, Vulture and Condor as back up." Sqwydd said.

"Condor?" Rex asked curiously.

"Yes, do you have a problem with that?" Condor was standing right behind him. He made Rex jump with his comment. He looked at Crow for a long moment. He walked around her, checking her out. "Huh, that's funny. You don't look like you suffered any injury."

"What?" She was a bit confused.

He smirked. "We'd thought you'd have to be brain damaged before you'd ever join Providence."

She frowned momentarily and then giggled. She socked him in the arm. "Shut up."

"Rex." Sixx warned again.

"Sorry guys, a hero's work is never done." Rex joked.

"Yeah, well don't get too full of yourself, hero." Condor smiled and held out his hand. "I owe you one, just tell me when you need me to pay you back."

He smiled and shook his hand. "Yeah, who knows? Maybe next time you can save my behind."

"One last thing, the guy who suped up my powers, he works for a underground organization they call the Red Sea. I didn't catch his name though."

"The Red Sea?" Rex questioned.

"Hmmm…." Crow thought about it deeply. "The Red Sea, huh?"

"He charged up an incurable's powers and he works for an organization called the Red Sea…" Rex realized it. "In that old bible story, the man who parted the Red Sea was Moses."

"Of course, Doctor Moses got away last time. It'd make sense that he'd start trouble in a dwelling for evo living." Noah added.

"And it explains the missing evos. Moses is probably back to selling charged up evos on the black market again." Sixx explained.

"Then I guess we'll have to keep an eye out for the Red Sea, won't we?" Cardinal approached Sixx. "I'll have all members on the look out." He held out a letter in a sealed envelope. "Make sure this gets to White Knight for me, will you? We'd all benefit from connecting the Birds' Nest's and Providence's resources. We'll be your insiders to the underground." He winked.

Sixx smirked. "If White doesn't decide to shut you down first."

"Ha! I knew you were funny." Cardinal shook hands with him. "Looking forward to working with you in the future."

Rex smiled at Crow. "So, milady." He bowed his head slightly and motioned to the jump-jet. "Your carriage awaits."

"Well, aren't you the gentlemen?" She chuckled.

"Good to have you on board, Crow." Sixx said.

"Actually, it's Johanna, call me Jo."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~GR~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"How did we end up with two more teenagers, Sixx? This isn't an orphanage." White fumed from his computer screen.

"Johanna is exactly like Rex, she can cure evos, and Tex is her brother and a good computer technician. He'd work well with César." Sixx explained.

"And neither of them remember more than three years ago?"

"Doctor Holiday thinks it might be a side effect the nanites event had on certain evos. She's going to look into it."

"This better produce something valuable. If she wasn't part of the cure, I'd object to it but we'd benefit from having two agents that can cure evos. Not only that but according to Cardinal's letter, if it weren't for her, we wouldn't be in contact with the Birds' Nest at all. With another, more tolerant, approach to evos, we've again got more funding; from both the government and the Nest's 40% donated income to Providence."

"I wasn't aware that he had offered that much."

"For the sake of the evos who do want normal lives, he actually offered more. As for Moses, he's becoming a bigger problem than we thought. Cardinal has his members looking and said he'd let me know when he found something."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~GR~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"And I present the briefing room." Rex said as they walked in.

"Sweet!" Tex jumped the railing and headed straight for the computer. He eyed it and touched the keys. He analyzed it from every angle. "What kind of CPU are we talking?"

"Excuse me!" Doctor Holiday removed his hand from the computer. "How'd you get in here?"

"Woah; hot, angry doctor lady." Tex said, a bit surprised.

Rex walked up to her. "Chill, Doc."

"Hey, Rex, you're finally back." César walked in. He spotted Tex and froze. "Que?"

"Guys, this is Tex, and this," He stepped to the side to reveal Jo. "is Jo." She scooted back behind Rex. "Come on, why are you hiding?"

"Because! I don't know any of these people! Why do you think I'm hiding?!"

"She's shy." Rex smiled. "This is Doctor Holiday and my brother, César."

"Nice to meet you." She said quietly, as she slowly stepped out from behind Rex.

Holiday smiled. "You must be the girl Sixx was talking about."

"Oh yeah? He didn't say anything bad, did he?"

"No, but he did say you and Rex were extremely close." Jo blushed a bit.  
"Duh, we're close. Jo is my new girlfriend."

"I still think she should have better standards." Bobo added.  
"Why? I think Rex is cute." Jo said.

"See? She says I'm cute."

"Yeah, now ask her what that's female for." Bobo grinned.

"Anyways," he started to change the subject. "I guess there's really nothing else to tell you two but welcome to Providence."

"Thanks. You know, I was kind of scared but now, I can't wait."

**END**


End file.
